McIlroy two behind Young as Woods struggles at The Open

Rory McIlroy sits just two shots off the lead after the opening round of The 150th Open, as Tiger Woods struggled on his St Andrews return.

McIlroy, who missed his Open title defence through injury when it was last held on the iconic Old Course in 2015, made an impressive start to his bid for a fifth major title by posting a six-under 66 on Thursday.

The Northern Irishman holed a 55-footer on his opening hole and made three consecutive birdies from the fourth to reach the turn in 32, with McIlroy adding another at the 12th before carding his only bogey of the day at the next when a poor chip ran some 50 yards past the hole.

McIlroy responded by taking advantage of the par-five next and picking up a shot at the par-four last, with the closing birdie closing the gap on clubhouse leader Cameron Young and seeing him post his lowest first-round score at The Open since he won the event in 2014.

"Yeah, fantastic start," McIlroy said. "Just what you hope will happen when you're starting off your week. I did everything that you're supposed to do around St Andrews. It's another good start at a major, three in a row for me now, and I'm looking forward to the next few days."

Young took advantage of the calmer morning conditions to make the dream start to his Open debut, where he threatened a record-low major round on his way to a bogey-free 64.

The American, who has five top-three finishes on the PGA Tour already this season, carded seven birdies in his opening 12 holes and bounced back from missed opportunities from close range at the 14th and 15th to add another on his final hole.

Cameron Smith sits three strokes back after an opening-round 67 and Viktor Hovland birdied his last three holes to close a four-under 68, with the